Filling mechanism for fountain pens



pril 16, 1946.

P. c. HULL FILLING MECHANISM FOR FOUNTAEN PENS Filed Sept. 29, 1944Pntented Apr. s, 1946 FLLING,MECHANISM FOR FOUNTAIN PENS Philip C. Bull,Janeavilie, Wim; assignor to The Parker Pen Company, Janesvilie, Wis., acoi-po- -tion of Wisconsin Application September 29, 1944, Serial No.556.351

Ciaims. (CI. 120-47) The invention relates generally to fillingmechanisms !or fountain pens and more particularly to a fillingmechanism of the type disclosed in the Dahlberg Patent No. 1,904,358issued April 18, 1933.

This type of filling mechanism may be characterized generally ascomprising a bulbous type diaphragm usually made of rubber and adaptedto be alternately expanded and contracted within the ink reservoir ofthe pen to force air from the reservoir by expansion and to draw ink`into the reservoir by contraction. A longitudinally reciprocable plungeris usually employed for actuating the mechanism, and the contraction ofthe diaphragm in certain forms oi' filling mechanisms of this type iseffected by inverting a portion of the diaphragm, that is. by drawing aportion oi' the diaphragm into itself.

Since the diaphragm in such forms of the device is designed to bereadiiy inverted as aforethe pen without chance of damaging any of the iparts of the mechanism.

said, andis connected to the other parts oi the i mechanism 'in a mannerbest suited for such operation, any movement imparted to the diaphragmother than such inversion is detrimental to the diaphragm itself as wellas to the securing thereof to the other parts of the device. Carelessturning of the plunger may cause harmful twistng of the diaphragm aswell as damage to other parts of the mechanism such as altering thetension of a coiied spring utilized to force the piunger in onedirection.

The general object' of the invention is therefore to provide a novelfilling mechanism of the above-mentioned type in which the plunger foreifecting' contraction and expansion of the diaphragm may be reelyreciproated without rotation and twisting thereof.

Another object is to provide a filling mecha- `ing mechanism of thel'oregoing type, which is of self-contained unitary Construction readilyinsertable in and removable from the barrel of Other objects andadvantages will become apparent from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, in which:" 4

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a founta'in pen having afilling mechanism embodying the features o! the invention and showingthe filling mechanismin its idle or at rest position. i

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the flliing mechanismwith its parts -extended to force air from the reservoir o! the pen.

Fig. 3is an enlarged. transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig.1.

A filling unit embodying the features of the invention is adapted foruse with a fountain pen having a barrel constituting a reservoir to holdink. The fountain pen shown in the drawing for illustrative purposescomprises a barre] n, the interier of which serves as an ink reservoirH. Secured to the front end of the barrei is any desired feed structureof a type which is suitable for use with a multiple stroke fillingmechanism such as herein disclosed. The feed structure, indicatedgenerally at !2, is adapted to control the feeding of ink from thereservoir i I to a pen point |3 provided with a writing nib M, theparticular feed structure herein shown being of the type disclosed inthe Baker Patent No. 2223541 issued December 3, 1940. The front end ofthe pen is provided with a cap (not shown) to protect the nib i when notin use.

A filling mechanism embodying the features of the invention is of themultiple-stroke type which is adapted to 'be operateda plurality oftimes in order to fill the reservoir of the pen to the desired level. Asmentioned above a filling device of this character includes usually aflexible diaphragm adapted to be expandedand contracted to discharge airfrom the reservoir and to draw inkinto the reservoir. With a diaphragmwhich is expanded and contracted by an inverting movement, it isdesirable, in order to avoid damage to the diaphragm, to prevent ittrembeing twisted, or fiexed in any other manner than in the intendedmanner. With a plunger which is manuaily operable and part of which isexposed so that it may be grasped, users of the pens frequently subjectthe filling mechanism to mistreatment by rotating or twisting theplunger when it is intended to be operated solely by reciprocation. Thepresent filling mechanism is so constructed that the plunger cannot betwisted and can only be operated reciprocably. so that the i diaphragmis thereby flexed only in the manner in which it is' intended.Furthermore, in the i present .filling mechanism a spring, which is pro-As shown in the drawing, the preferred form of my filling mechanismcomprises a body member 20 which is externally threaded for securing itin the end of the barrel 10, The body member 20 has a reduced portion 2|at its outer end threaded externally to receive a closure cap 22. Thebody member 20 support the other parts of the mechanism and to this endhas an internal bore 23 at its front or inner end to receive a sleevemember 24 which extends forwardly into the barrel of the pen from thebody member 20. A flexible diaphragm 25 is carried by the body structureand is of elongated bulbous form opened at one end so thatit may fitover the forward end of the sleeve member 24. The other end of thediaphragm 25 is closed and is adapted to be alternately pulled out tosubstantially its full length and inverted to effect the pumping action.

To move the closed end of the diaphragm in this manner, a plunger 26 isprovided, which is in the form of an elongated shankslidably supportedby the body member 20 and provided at its outer end with a small head 21so that it may be readily reciprocated by pressure of the flnger againstsaid head. The plunger 23 extends for- Wardly through the body member 20and the sleeve member 24 and has a reduced portion 30 on its forwardend. The' reduced forward end 30 ofthe plunger is adapted to beconnected to the closed end of the diaphragm by means of a connector 3lwhich is provided with a central bore fltting over the reduced portion30 and cemented thereto. The forward end of the connector 30 is providedwith a socket portion 32 to receive the closed end of the diaphragm 25.To secure the diaphragm thereinf a small ball 33 is inserted within aninverted portion of the closed end of the diaphragm and the two are thenpositioned within the socket 32, the diaphragm at such time being insideout and extending forwardly from the Connector. The forward edge of thesocket 32 is then turned inwardly as shown at 34 to a sufiicient extentto prevent withdrawal of the ball 33 and the surrounding portion of thediaphragm. The diaphragm is then reversed and fitted over the sleevemember 24 to secure it in place.

The plunger 26 is adapted to be moved outwardly by spring pressure sothat operation of the filling device may be performed merely byintermittently pressing against the head 21 of the plunger. Springpressure in the present instance is provided by a coiled tension spring36 mounted within the sleeve member 24 and surrounding the shank of theplunger. The rear end of the spring 36 -is held in a fixed position, andto this end one or more turns of the spring at its rear end are enlargedas at 31 and are seated at the inner end of the bore 23. The enlargementof these turns is such that they are held in place within the boreagainst longitudinal movement by the sleeve member 24 when the latter isscrewed into the bore. The forward end oi' the spring is adaptasoaas edto be connected to the plunger and, in the preferred construction, suchattachment is eflected by bending the end of the spring transversey asat 40 to extend through a transverse slot 4| formed in the reducedportion 30 of the plunger. The bent portion of the spring may thus bereadily inserted into the slot 4| and is securely held therein by theconnecter 3! when the latter is cemented to the reduced portion 30.

Since the front or closed end of the diaphragm is Secured to the plungerby means of the connector al, and the bent end 40 of the spring islikewise connected thereto, it is obvious that damage would result bothto the diaphragm and to the spring if the plunger were rotated ortwisted. Thus the diaphragm, which is intended to be flexed by aninverting movement, would be unduly distorted by any twisting movementthereof, and the coil spring would be .either uncoiled or coiled tootightly by such twisting movement of the plunger so that it would nothave its proper tension. For this reason the plunger and body portionare so constructed that the plunger cannot be rotated relative to thebody member, the latter being fixed within the barrel of the pen. Tothis end the shank of the plunger has a noncircular formand the passagethrough the body member, in which the plunger slides, is correspondinglyshaped so that the plunger cannot be panding and contracting thediaphragm.

It will be noted' that the structure of the filling mechanism hereindisclosed constitutes a selfcontained unit. -The forward end of thesleeve member 24 on which'the diaphragm 25 is mounted, is of suchdiameter that the diaphragm clears the side wall of the barrel and thuscannot adhere thereto; 'To provide an effective seal between the fillingmechanism and the barrel, the sleeve memberintermediate its ends isprovided with an outwardly extending flange 42 which is adapted to abutagainst an internal shoulder 43 formed on the interior of the barrel owith a sealing gasket 44 interposed therebetween. With this Constructionof the filling device all the parts thereof maybe assembled before thedevice is inserted and fixed in the barrel. In case repair of thefilling mechanism becomes necessary, the entire device may be readilyremoved merely by unscrewing the body member 20 from the barrel, thegasket 44 providing the necessary seal to prevent leakage of ink aroundthe filling mechanism.

From'the foregoing description it will be apparent that I provide anovel filling mechanism including a plunger and a longitudinallycontractible diaphragm, with the plunger so carried by the bodystructure of the filling mechanism that it can be actuated only in thedesired manner. Thus the pentagonal shape of the shank of the plungerprevents it from being twisted relative to the body member and therebyprevents the diaphragm and the spring, which are connected to theplunger, from being twisted and damaged thereby. The mechanism is of theselfcontained unitary type readily insertible in and removable from thebarrel of the pen and is of simple construction in which the parts ofthe mechanism are held together in an effective manner.

I claim:

1. A filling mechanism of self-contained uni tary Constructioncomprising a body structure adapted to be secured in the barre of afountain pen and having a longitudinal passage therein, a longitudinallycontractibie bulbous diaphragm secured over one end of said bodystructure'out of contact With the barrel, a plunger slidably mounted insaid body structure and having a reduced end portion extendin into saiddiaphragm, and a connector mounted on said reduced portion for securingthe diaphragm thereto, said plunger and said passage havinginter-engaging longitudinally extending -surfaces preventing rotation ofsaid plunger relative to the body structure.

2. A filling mechanism comprising a body structure, a longitudinallycontractible. bulbous diaphragm secured to said body structure, aplunger reciprocally carried by said body structure and secured to saiddiaphragm to contract and expand the latter, and a tension springmounted in said body structure and surrounding said piunger, said springbeing anchored at one end to said body structure and at its other end tosaid plunger, said body structure and said piunger being complementallyand non-circularly shaped to prevent rotation of said plunger andtwisting of said diaphragm and said spring.

3. A filling i mechanism comprising a body member having an internalbore 'at one end, a coiled spring mounted in said bore and having one ormore eniarged turns at its inner end, a sleeve member secured in saidbore and holding said enlarged turns against endwise movement, alongitudinally contractibie bulbous diaphragm mounted on said sleevemember, and a plunger extending through said body member and sleevemember and connected to said diaphragm, the other end oi' said springbeing anchored to said 'a plunger slidably mounted in and shapedcomplementally to the non-circular passage in said body member andextending into said diaphragm plunger, said plunger and one of saidmembers having inter-engaging surfaces preventing rotation of theplunger to prevent twisting of the diaphragm and the spring andconnected thereto, said plunger having its inner end transverseiysiitted with the other end of the spring bent to'extend through saidslit to secure the other end of the spring to the piunger, thenon-circular shape of the plunger and passage preventing rotation ofsaid plunger to prevent twisting of the diaphragm and spring.

5. A filling mechanism for a fountin pen comprising a body memberadapted to be mountin the barrel ot the pen, a coiled spring mounted ina bore in the inner end of said body member,

i a. sleeve member having a flange intermediate its ends with theportion of the sleeve member on one side of said flange secured in saidbore to hold one end of the spring therein, the other end of the sleevemember being adapted to extend inwardly of thebarre and to support alon- ,gitudinally contractibie bulbous diaphragm in spaced relation tothe side wall of the barrel, said fi'ange being adapted to eflect a.scaling re- 'lation with a shoulder within the barrei, and a plungerslidably carried by said body member and extending through said springfor connection with the other end of said spring and with said`diaphragm, said piunger and said body member having inter-engagingsurfaces preventing rotation of the plunger to prevent twisting of thespring and diaphragm.

PHILIP C. HULL.

